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Just minutes after a medical helicopter crashed onto a California highway, Sacramento Fire Capt. Peter Vandersluis found himself directing an impromptu response team of about 15 drivers to lift the wreckage off a paramedic trapped underneath.
When Vandersluis shouted “lift,” they raised the aircraft. When he ordered “hold,” they kept it elevated.
“Just out of instinct — the people were there willing to help, and they didn’t hesitate and followed my exact commands,” Vandersluis told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “And we were able to lift it up with ease.”
The paramedic, as well as a nurse and pilot on board, were taken to hospitals in critical condition after Monday evening’s crash on State Route 50 east of downtown Sacramento.
The aircraft had departed a hospital after dropping off a patient when it experienced an “in-air emergency” and went down just after 7 p.m. The conditions of the three weren’t immediately known Tuesday.
Vandersluis was supervising the first fire engine crew to reach the crash, and he knew it would take too long for additional rescue teams to arrive.
“Once I heard the woman groan, I made the decision to essentially yell out and get the bystanders to help lift the helicopter off of her,” Vandersluis said.
A firefighter tried to pull the paramedic out only to find she was trapped by her seat belt. The firefighter scooted underneath, cut the seat belt and rescued her.
The ad hoc team raised the aircraft in about 30 seconds. By the time the firefighter extracted the paramedic, less than a minute had passed.
The group gently lowered the aircraft to the ground after the paramedic was safely removed.
Valdersluis said he has never led a group of civilians in an emergency response situation before. But he noted his job is to lead the men and women he works with on a daily basis. His training and nearly 20 years of experience as a firefighter told him what to do.
His engine had been responding to a motorcycle accident just nearby in the westbound lanes of the same highway when the helicopter crashed. The engine drove against traffic to the scene and got there in minutes.
Some drivers were already out of their cars trying to assist when the firefighters arrived.
Aimee Braddock was among those who helped. She told KCRA-TV that she rushed to the crash site after seeing the helicopter plummet to the pavement.
“As soon as I saw that everybody was moving to try to push the helicopter out to help the first responders get to the passenger, I just ran over and got in the line of people and was just pushing it as much as I could,” Braddock recounted. “Then we held it for several minutes, so the first responder could get the person out.”
Firefighters said they didn’t confirm the helicopter caught fire. White smoke billowed out of the aircraft when it crashed, but Vandersluis said it was released by an onboard fire extinguisher system.
No one on the highway was injured, something Capt. Justin Sylvia with the Sacramento Fire Department called “mind blowing” given that the helicopter crashed in the center of the highway.
“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter kind of going down quickly. So all the traffic slowed down,” Sylvia said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said they were investigating the crash of the Airbus EC-130 T2.
The aircraft was a REACH Air Medical helicopter, according to the company, which said in a statement that they “are keeping all those impacted in our thoughts and prayers.”
“We are in the process of determining the details of this situation, as well as the condition of the REACH crew involved, who were all taken to area hospitals,” the company’s statement said.
Sacramento City Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan was on a ride-along with law enforcement responding to the crash and said there were plumes of white smoke coming out of the downed helicopter.
“It’s really sombering and sobering. I am up flying with sheriff pilots that do this day in and day out. And it really makes you grateful for every day and grateful for our officers and our medical pilots,” she said.
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